Who are the Osteopathic Council?

Council Members

Martin holds a Masters of Osteopathy degree form Unitec and is currently in private practice in Auckland having previously worked in Blenheim and Whangarei. Martin has served on the Osteopathic Council since 2010.

Prior to undertaking his osteopathic training, Martin worked for the NZ Department of Labour in London for five years before returning home to enter the osteopathic programme at Unitec. While completing his studies, Martin served as student representative on the Unitec Osteopathic Programme Committee for three years and since being appointed to the Osteopathic Council has completed postgraduate papers in Healthcare Ethics at AUT.

Tim Friedlander holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Osteopathy degree from Unitec. He works in private practice in Auckland at clinics in Waitakere and the North Shore. Tim has strong ties to education, lecturing part-time in the undergraduate osteopathy programme at Unitec and with experience in e-learning and information technology. His interest in pain science and management has led him to further post-graduate study at Otago University where he is pursuing a post-graduate Diploma in Health Science.

Max originally came to Osteopathy via an eclectic range of occupations that included being a forest Ranger, school teacher and an officer in the Auckland Metropolitan Fire Brigade before qualifying as an Osteopath at the Pacific College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1983. Along the way Max has acquired diplomas in Nutrition, Herbal medicine and Homoeopathy.

Initially practicing in a small multi disciplined practice in Whangarei, the business has grown so that he now is one of the Directors of a major multi disciplined integrated health practice in Whangarei.

Max has been involved with the professional Osteopathic body for most of his career and now hopes to continue his contribution to the Profession through the Council.

Max's primary interest with Osteopathy is in the integrated practice sphere of activity and the means of utilising Osteopathy as part of a bigger picture in health promotion.

Emma Fairs is a registered Osteopath who trained in the UK where she worked for two years before moving to New Zealand. Emma has been working in Christchurch for the last 15 years, in her private practice; her main clinical focus has been the Osteopathic management of Obstetric and Paediatric patients.

Emma has been involved in the development of Osteopathy in NZ, both the regulation of the profession and the development of a training programme. She was part of the NZQA panel that accredited the Masters Degree in Osteopathy at Unitec, Auckland; and for four years acted as one of the two Monitors for the supply of the Degree. Between 1997 and 2008 she was an elected member of the Osteopathic Society of New Zealand (OSNZ) and the New Zealand Register of Osteopaths (NZRO) Committee, initially organising the supply of post-graduate education in NZ, and for the last four years in the position of OSNZ President. Since resigning from the position of President, Emma has consulted for the OSNZ and the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand (OCNZ).

Lawrence graduated from Leeds University with a B.Sc (Hons) in 1978. He entered the osteopathic profession in 1984 after graduating from the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy (now British College of Osteopathic Medicine) in London. He practised in London until 1987 when he emigrated to Wellington, where he has been in private practice ever since.

Over the years Lawrence has been involved with the profession in a number of ways, initially as secretary to the New Zealand Register of Osteopaths, then as a Disciplinary Board member of the NZRO. In 2004 he was appointed by the Minister of Health to the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (as a practitioner member) under the HPCA Act 2003. He resigned from the Tribunal in 2014 after appointment to the OCNZ.

Lawrence has a special interest in rehabilitation in his private practice working to alleviate pain, improve function and empower patients to help themselves.

Lara graduated from the Unitec osteopathy programme in 2014 and has been practising in Wellington. As one would hope for a graduate, Lara is very enthusiastic about osteopathy and happy to be involved in its operation and regulation in order to provide the best service to healthcare consumers in our community. Lara's upbringing and education in New Zealand allow her to feel comfortable working with this country's cultural nuances and increasingly diverse community, while her years of living internationally have given her perspective on how New Zealand operates within the global environment. She sees potential for the role of osteopathic medicine to grow and become an important part of integrated heathcare in New Zealand and hopes to facilitate this growth through her work in practice and with the Council.

Sue has worked in the regulation of professionals for the last 12 years, firstly as a consultant working both in New Zealand and overseas to advise regulatory boards on governance, management and organisational issues.

Sue is also currently a board member of the Veterinary Council of New Zealand and she is a professional conduct committee member for several health regulatory bodies.

Prior to her work for the Medical Council she worked primarily in the voluntary sector in health, early childhood education, family planning advocacy and education and human rights.

Adele is a lay member of the Council. She has an external relations and stakeholder engagement background, with many years' experience of working with a wide variety od New Zealand and international communities. Adele is currently working in Injury Prevention at ACC, where she leads the Community team. Most recently Adele was the IHC National Manager Fundraising Development where she was responsible for raising the charitable income for one of New Zealand's largest and most successful charities. Prior to this, Adele was the IHC National Manager Volunteering and Community Developement and the National Manager Volunteering and International Intercultural Facilatator for AFS International.

Adele has also worked in community development, social work, women's health, youth work and education. Adele has a BA and an MA (Applied in Social Work), both from Victoria University and has certificates in marketing, change management and intergenerational management from Reed College, Portland, USA.